Received; read twice and referred to the
Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources

AN ACT

To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act to provide for the proper Federal management and oversight of transboundary
hydrocarbon reservoirs, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the
Outer Continental Shelf Transboundary
Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act.

I

Amendment to the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act

101.

Amendment to
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
(43 U.S.C. 1331 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

32.

Transboundary
hydrocarbon agreements

(a)

Authorization

After the date of enactment of the Outer
Continental Shelf Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act, the
Secretary may implement the terms of any transboundary hydrocarbon agreement
for the management of transboundary hydrocarbon reservoirs entered into by the
President and approved by Congress. In implementing such an agreement, the
Secretary shall protect the interests of the United States to promote domestic
job creation and ensure the expeditious and orderly development and
conservation of domestic mineral resources in accordance with all applicable
United States laws governing the exploration, development, and production of
hydrocarbon resources on the outer Continental Shelf.

(b)

Submission to
congress

(1)

In
general

No later than 180 days after all parties to a
transboundary hydrocarbon agreement have agreed to its terms, a transboundary
hydrocarbon agreement that does not constitute a treaty in the judgment of the
President shall be submitted by the Secretary to—

(A)

the Speaker of the
House of Representatives;

(B)

the Majority
Leader of the Senate;

(C)

the Chair of the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and

(D)

the Chair of the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.

(2)

Contents of
submission

The submission
shall include—

(A)

any amendments to
this Act or other Federal law necessary to implement the agreement;

(B)

an analysis of the
economic impacts such an agreement and any amendments necessitated by the
agreement will have on domestic exploration, development, and production of
hydrocarbon resources on the outer Continental Shelf; and

(C)

a detailed
description of any regulations expected to be issued by the Secretary to
implement the agreement.

(c)

Implementation
of specific transboundary agreement with Mexico

The Secretary may
take actions as necessary to implement the terms of the Agreement between the
United States of America and the United Mexican States Concerning Transboundary
Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico, signed at Los Cabos, February 20,
2012, including—

(1)

approving
unitization agreements and related arrangements for the exploration,
development, or production of oil and natural gas from transboundary reservoirs
or geological structures;

(2)

making available,
in the limited manner necessary under the agreement and subject to the
protections of confidentiality provided by the agreement, information relating
to the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas from a
transboundary reservoir or geological structure that may be considered
confidential, privileged, or proprietary information under law;

(3)

taking actions
consistent with an expert determination under the agreement; and

(4)

ensuring only appropriate inspection staff
at the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement or other Federal agency
personnel designated by the Bureau, the operator, or the lessee have authority
to stop work on any installation or other device or vessel permanently or
temporarily attached to the seabed of the United States, which may be erected
thereon for the purpose of resource exploration, development or production
activities as approved by the Secretary.

(d)

Exemption from
resources extraction reporting requirement

Actions taken by a
public company in accordance with any transboundary hydrocarbon agreement shall
not constitute the commercial development of oil, natural gas, or minerals for
purposes of section 13(q) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(157 U.S.C.
78m(q)).

(e)

Savings
provisions

Nothing in this section shall be construed—

(1)

to authorize the Secretary to participate
in any negotiations, conferences, or consultations with Cuba regarding
exploration, development, or production of hydrocarbon resources in the Gulf of
Mexico along the United States maritime border with Cuba or the area known by
the Department of the Interior as the Eastern Gap; or

(2)

as affecting the sovereign rights and the
jurisdiction that the United States has under international law over the outer
Continental Shelf which appertains to
it.

.

II

Approval of
Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreement

201.

Approval of
agreement with Mexico

The
Agreement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States
Concerning Transboundary Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico, signed
at Los Cabos, February 20, 2012, is hereby approved.